1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the fields of mirrors and optics. More specifically, the present invention relates to a panoramic cosmetic mirror offering improved views of an individual's face and head during personal grooming and hygiene activities.
2. Description of the Related Art
Mirrors are commonly used in the performance of personal grooming activities such as shaving, cosmetic application, hair styling and skin care among others. While mirrors are indispensible in the performance of such activities, inherent limitations in conventional mirrors result in images that are only an approximation of an individual's appearance, thereby hindering the ability of individuals to self-groom and accurately view the results of grooming performed by others.
An individual flat mirrors is limited in that it can only provide a two dimensional image of personal features that are in fact three dimensional. Thus, while the resulting images are accurate for the flatter portions of an individual's anatomy, the images of features that slope away to the side, top and bottom of an individual head are considerably distorted. While the obvious solution is to move the mirror to better view these features, human eyes are limited in their motion range and peripheral vision. This results in great difficulties in accurately viewing these features as well as eye strain and fatigue from prolonged viewing at angles that are difficult for the human eye to maintain.
Some of these difficulties have been overcome in the past by the use of three way mirrors consisting of a central mirrors flanked by side mirrors placed at various acute angles, allowing the sides of an individual to be viewed. While an improvement over standard flat mirrors the number and angles can be at any given time remains limited. To switch from viewing the sides of the head to viewing the top and bottom still requires that the mirror assembly be rotated, often requiring that one hand be used to stabilize the mirror and thus making grooming functions difficult. Attempts to solve this problem have included the use of concave curved mirrors but such mirrors introduce considerable distortions in shape and dimension the further out the image is viewed from the center.
Lighting provides additional difficulties in the manipulations of mirrors. As mirrors and mirror assemblies are rotated to change the angles are which images are viewed, differences in the position of the mirror change the mount of ambient lighting that is reflected in the image. As a result, the image may be too bright or dark for effective grooming. In additional, bright lighting is often necessary for the accurate performance of grooming functions. The heat produced by the lighting combined with the blockage of the air flow caused by the mirror itself can cause excessive perspiration which may interfere with grooming functions such as cosmetic application.
Numerous attempts to improve on cosmetic mirrors are known in the previous art:
U.S. Pat. No. 2,266,089 (Shipman) uses an assembly of multiple mirrors in stage device that provides a kaleidoscopic multiplication of images to provide optical illusions in theatrical performances. This is achieved by positioning and rotating a series of mirrors around a central axis.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,184 (Watson) teaches a device allowing an individual to view two images of said individual, either side by side or separately. One image is a standard reversed mirror image and the other is a corrected true image as might be seen by others looking directly upon the individual. The device uses to angularly positioned mirrors that a viewed through a mirror housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,300 (Berenstein) provides a portable mirror unit consisting of a single framed flat mirror and a fan unit to blow low velocity air against the face of a user. The air flow is intended to be “pleasurable” to the user during shaving or makeup application.
A portable cosmetic mirror including a stand is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,359,461 (Rice et al.). The stand allows a single flat mirror to be adjusted to a height convenient for the user so that both hands may be free for cosmetic operations. A magnifying means may be removable positioned on the flat mirror.
U.S. Pat. Disclosure DES 416,691 provides a portable lighted single flat mirror positioned on an adjustable stand.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,876 B1 (Burton) describes a three way mirror mounted on an adjustable telescoping stand. The side mirrors are adjustable in angle and the assembly includes a lighting source positioned above the central mirror.
A portable mirror system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,382,802 B1 (Goodman) consisting of a round, two-sided mirror mounted on an adjustable tripod stand. The two-sided mirror is rotatable with triple power magnification on one side and one magnification power on the other.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,090,378 B1 (Zadro) provides a dual mirror assemble attached to a handle that is pivotably and telescopically extendable. The dual mirror assembly consists of two circular mirrors of different magnification powers, each surrounded by a ring-shaped lamp and overlain with a diffuser ring.
A portable, foldable mirror is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,347,573 (Isler). The foldable mirror comprises a foldable three way mirror with an additional base panel at the bottom and a light source at the top of the foldable three way mirror. The mirror assembly is intended to facilitate foot examination in persons prone to foot problems.
The prior art is deficient in the lack of a mirror assembly capable of simultaneously providing a plurality of panoramic views, including front, side, top, bottom and other angles) of an individual or face thereof. The present invention addressed this lack.